Kenosha Unified School District elections (2018)

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2017
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Kenosha Unified School District elections

General election date
April 3, 2018
Enrollment ('15-'16)
22,160 students

An at-large general election was held for three seats on the Kenosha Unified School District Board of Education in Wisconsin on April 3, 2018. The seats held by Tamarra Coleman, Mike Falkofske, and Mary Snyder were up for grabs in this race.

Four candidates filed to run in this race. Mike Falkofske, a geographic information systems (GIS) specialist and the only incumbent who sought another term, was defeated in his bid for re-election. The three other candidates—Kenosha Area Business Alliance president Todd Battle, vice president of United Hospital System/Froedtert South Tom Duncan, and retired teacher Mary Braun Modder—won election to the three seats on the board.

Coleman and Snyder were members of the governing majority on the Kenosha Unified School District Board of Education while Falkofske was in the minority from April 2015 to January 2017, according to a Ballotpedia study of the board's voting patterns in meeting minutes. The 2018 election could have meant a change in the board's governing majority going forward.

Elections

Voter and candidate information

Kenosha Unified School District logo.jpg

The Kenosha Board of Education consists of seven members elected at large to three-year terms. The board determines compensation for members during the organizational meeting following April elections.[1]

School board candidates in Wisconsin had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[2]

To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 2, 2018. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 5, 2018. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 23, 2018.[2]

Voter registration

See also: Voting in Wisconsin and Voter identification laws by state

To vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state for at least 10 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years old.[3][4][5] One can register to vote by mail, online, or in person. For voters registering to vote in this 2018 school board election by mail, the application had to be postmarked by March 14, 2018. The online voter registration deadline was March 30, 2018, and the in-person deadline was April 3, 2018.

Candidates and results

At-Large

General election

General election for Kenosha Unified School District Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Duncan
Tom Duncan (Nonpartisan)
 
27.0
 
8,310
Image of Mary Braun Modder
Mary Braun Modder (Nonpartisan)
 
26.2
 
8,082
Image of Todd Battle
Todd Battle (Nonpartisan)
 
24.6
 
7,580
Image of Mike Falkofske
Mike Falkofske (Nonpartisan)
 
21.7
 
6,688
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.5
 
168

Total votes: 30,828
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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Wisconsin elections, 2018


Key deadlines

Endorsements

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at [email protected].

Past elections

See also: Past elections in the Kenosha Unified School District

To see results from past elections in the Kenosha Unified School District, click here.

What was at stake?

Report a story for this election

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Issues in the district

District settles transgender lawsuit

The Kenosha School District settled a lawsuit in which a transgender former student had said the district discriminated against him on January 9, 2018. The board voted 5-2 on an $800,000 settlement in the case of Ash Whitaker, the former student who was identified as female at birth. Whitaker filed the suit alleging staff had monitored him by making him wear wristbands so he could be identified. Tamarra Coleman, Mary Snyder, Daniel Wade, Rebecca Stevens, and Mike Falkofske voted for the settlement, with the dissenting votes cast by Gary Kunich and Tony Garcia.[6]

The district had filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in August 2017 requesting that it overturn a Court of Appeals ruling made in May, which had upheld U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Pepper’s decision allowing Whitaker to use male-only restrooms at the district high school.[6]

Election trends

See also: School board elections, 2018
School Board Election Trends Banner.jpg

The 2018 Kenosha Unified Board of Education election saw the lowest number of candidates file per seat that the district had seen over the previous five election cycles. Four candidates filed for three seats on the ballot for 1.33 candidates per seat. This figure is lower that the 2016 Wisconsin average of 1.57 candidates per seat and the 2016 United States average of 1.90 candidates per seat.

School board election trends
Year Candidates per seat Uncontested seats Incumbents running for re-election Incumbent success rate Seats won by newcomers
Kenosha Unified School District
2018 1.33 0.00% 33.33% 0.00% 100.00%
2017 2.00 0.00% 100.00% 100.00% 0.00%
2016 3.00 0.00% 50.00% 100.00% 50.00%
2015 1.67 0.00% 100.00% 66.67% 33.33%
2014 3.00 0.00% 100.00% 0.00% 100.00%
Wisconsin
2016 1.57 29.73% 78.38% 68.97% 45.95%
2015 1.38 38.24% 73.53% 84.00% 35.29%
2014 1.40 46.67% 86.67% 88.46% 23.33%
United States
2016 1.90 34.05% 71.31% 82.39% 41.04%
2015 1.72 35.95% 70.37% 82.66% 40.81%
2014 1.89 32.57% 75.51% 81.31% 38.24%

About the district

The Kenosha Unified School District is located in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

The Kenosha Unified School District is located in Kenosha County in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Kenosha. Kenosha County was home to an estimated 168,437 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[7] The district served 22,160 students during the 2015-2016 school year.[8]

Demographics

Higher education achievement

Kenosha County underperformed compared to Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 24.5 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[7]

Median household income

The median household income in Kenosha County was $54,918 from 2011 to 2015, compared to $53,357 for Wisconsin. During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,889.[7]

Poverty rate

From 2011 to 2015, the poverty rate in Kenosha County was 12.7 percent. During that same time period, it was 12.1 percent for the entire state, and it was 13.5 percent for the country as a whole.[7]

Racial Demographics, 2015[7]
Race Kenosha County (%) Wisconsin (%)
White 87.5 87.6
Black or African American 7.4 6.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7 1.1
Asian 1.7 2.8
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 2.6 1.8
Hispanic or Latino 12.8 6.6

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Twenty-three of 72 Wisconsin counties—32 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Adams County, Wisconsin 21.92% 8.73% 18.35%
Buffalo County, Wisconsin 21.82% 2.93% 14.66%
Columbia County, Wisconsin 2.14% 13.58% 15.26%
Crawford County, Wisconsin 5.40% 19.98% 27.03%
Door County, Wisconsin 3.22% 6.99% 17.33%
Dunn County, Wisconsin 11.09% 4.97% 14.95%
Forest County, Wisconsin 26.58% 5.44% 15.16%
Grant County, Wisconsin 9.43% 13.77% 23.88%
Jackson County, Wisconsin 11.74% 15.01% 21.84%
Juneau County, Wisconsin 26.05% 7.03% 9.00%
Kenosha County, Wisconsin 0.31% 12.23% 18.06%
Lafayette County, Wisconsin 8.99% 15.37% 22.32%
Lincoln County, Wisconsin 20.60% 0.71% 12.48%
Marquette County, Wisconsin 24.09% 0.27% 5.28%
Pepin County, Wisconsin 23.08% 2.22% 12.89%
Price County, Wisconsin 25.00% 0.04% 13.40%
Racine County, Wisconsin 4.28% 3.54% 7.41%
Richland County, Wisconsin 5.50% 16.13% 20.63%
Sauk County, Wisconsin 0.35% 18.47% 23.04%
Sawyer County, Wisconsin 18.41% 0.49% 6.23%
Trempealeau County, Wisconsin 12.64% 14.08% 26.39%
Vernon County, Wisconsin 4.43% 14.73% 22.00%
Winnebago County, Wisconsin 7.34% 3.73% 11.66%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Wisconsin with 47.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 46.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Wisconsin cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wisconsin supported Republicans slightly more than Democratic candidates, 50.0 to 46.7 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every presidential election from 2000 to 2012 before voting for Trump in 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in Wisconsin. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[9][10]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 43 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 36 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.6 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 56 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 12.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 63 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 19.4 points. Trump won two districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kenosha Unified School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Kenosha Unified School District Wisconsin School Boards
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External links

Footnotes